Signed recurring contracts
Written agreements with term, scope, and renewal language are the most valuable asset in this category. Month-to-month handshake accounts price far lower.
El Paso Owner's Guide · Janitorial, Commercial & Residential Cleaning
How to Sell a Commercial Cleaning or Janitorial Company in El Paso, Texas
Cleaning companies are contract businesses, and contract businesses sell on the strength of their recurring revenue. Buyers pay for signed agreements, low customer concentration, and crews and supervisors who stay after the handshake.
- 2×–4×
- Typical multiple of owner earnings for a contract-based company
- $5M
- SBA 7(a) financing available to qualified buyers
- 100%
- Confidential — clients and crews never know
The Local Market
What buyers pay for in an El Paso cleaning company
Office parks, medical buildings, schools, and warehouses across El Paso and Doña Ana County generate steady janitorial demand. Buyers are usually operators or regional consolidators, and they underwrite the contract book before anything else.
Customer concentration and account tenure
A long list of mid-sized accounts is worth more than one large one. Average account tenure tells a buyer how durable the revenue is.
Supervisors, crews, and turnover
Documented crew structure, supervisors who run routes, and manageable turnover are what let a buyer take over without service failures.
Margin discipline and worker classification
Gross margin per account, labor cost control, insurance and bonding, and properly documented employment status all get examined closely.
Free Estimator · No Email Required
What is my El Paso cleaning company worth?
Move the slider. This uses owner's discretionary earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus your salary, personal expenses run through the business, interest, depreciation, and one-time costs — the number buyers and SBA lenders actually price.
$180,000 / year
$40K$1.2M
Which of these are true today?
Illustrative Range
Estimated enterprise value
$396,000 – $675,000
That’s roughly 2.2× to 3.8× your owner’s earnings, before any real estate you own.
Every box you check is a lever you can still pull before you list. Owners who fix the books and the lease first routinely land at the top of their range instead of the bottom.
Illustration only — not an appraisal or an offer.
Step by Step
The six steps that get a cleaning company sold — in that order.
- 01
Document earnings and the contract book
Three years of P&Ls and tax returns, reconciled, plus a schedule of every account showing monthly revenue, gross margin, start date, contract status, and renewal terms.
- 02
Commission an independent, certified valuation
Not a broker's opinion. We commission a certified valuation from an independent NACVA-credentialed appraiser — the caliber of report banks, buyers, the IRS, and courts rely on. It sets a defensible price and survives diligence.
- 03
Put your handshake accounts on paper
Converting verbal arrangements into signed, assignable agreements before listing is the single highest-return project in this industry.
- 04
Fix what diligence will find
Worker classification and payroll records, workers' compensation and general liability coverage, bonding, background checks, equipment ownership, vehicle titles, and unpaid taxes.
- 05
Market it confidentially — never publicly
No word to your clients or your crews. We market blind to vetted, financially qualified buyers under NDA using market and financial profile only.
- 06
Negotiate, survive diligence, and close
Offers, escrow, contract assignment and consent where required, crew retention, equipment and vehicle schedules, and funding. We stay on it through the transition that keeps every account serviced.
Costly Mistakes
Six mistakes that cost cleaning company owners real money.
Operating without written contracts
Revenue a buyer cannot verify or assign is revenue they will not fully pay for. Paper is worth money in this category.
Depending on one anchor client
Heavy concentration is the most discounted risk in janitorial. Diversifying before listing often beats another year of growth.
Being the salesperson and the supervisor
If accounts belong to you personally and no one else can run a route, buyers see a job rather than a business.
Loose worker classification
How your cleaners are classified, insured, and documented is examined by every serious buyer and lender. Fix it early, not in diligence.
Telling crews or clients early
Both leave when they feel uncertain, and each departure takes value with it. Confidentiality protects the contract book the buyer is paying for.
Chasing revenue at any margin
Low-margin accounts add sales without adding value. Buyers price earnings, and unprofitable work can actually reduce your number.
Questions Owners Ask
Cleaning Company owners ask us these first.
Straight answers, no hedging. If yours isn’t here, call us and ask it directly.
Contract-based cleaning companies commonly trade between roughly 2 and 4 times owner's discretionary earnings, with signed recurring agreements, diversified clients, and supervisors in place at the top of that range. Only a certified independent valuation survives a lender's underwriting.
It depends on the assignment language in each agreement and on how the transaction is structured. Reviewing assignment provisions before going to market prevents an unpleasant discovery during diligence.
Yes, but expect the price and the structure to reflect the risk, sometimes with a portion of the price tied to that account continuing. Diversifying beforehand is usually worth more than waiting for a better market.
Qualified buyers can access SBA 7(a) financing up to $5 million, and recurring-contract service businesses are a comfortable lender profile. It requires clean, reconciled financials and a defensible independent valuation. SBA pre-qualification is a preliminary, non-binding lender assessment, not a loan commitment.
Not from us. Your company is marketed blind to vetted buyers who sign a non-disclosure agreement before they learn who you are, and client conversations happen only at a stage you approve.
Get every account under a signed, assignable agreement, promote a supervisor who can run operations without you, and clean up payroll and insurance documentation. Those three moves change your price more than anything at the negotiating table.
Where we work
Cleaning Company owners we represent across El Paso, West Texas, and southern New Mexico
Whether your cleaning company sits on the east side, downtown, out in the valley, or across the state line in Doña Ana County, the sale process is the same: verified financials, an independent certified valuation, and a confidential, competitive market of qualified buyers. We meet owners at a time and place of their choosing.
- El Paso
- West El Paso & Upper Valley
- East El Paso
- Northeast El Paso
- Central & Downtown
- Horizon City
- Socorro
- San Elizario
- Clint & Fabens
- Canutillo
- Anthony, TX & NM
- Fort Bliss corridor
- Las Cruces, NM
- Sunland Park, NM
- Doña Ana County
- Alamogordo & Deming, NM
- Van Horn & Fort Hancock
- Midland & Odessa
Cleaning Company Owners · Confidential
Find out what your company is actually worth.
One confidential conversation with a partner — not a coordinator. We will tell you where your numbers put you today, what would move the multiple, and whether now is your moment.
- Confidential — nothing is shared or listed without your written consent.
- A reply within one business day, usually the same afternoon.
- No fee, no obligation, and no pressure for the first conversation.